Organic Millet Cultivation in South India

Support for traditional organic millet cultivation in the state of Tamil Nadu, India

Problem description

Tribal farmers and their family earn hardly 1,200 Euro per year and many of them are in debts. This scheme of assistance is focusing on the support of farmers to revive and maintain organic cultivation of millets and other seasonal crops in their own small land holdings. The tribal farmers will be assisted with material inputs, capacity building training and on field accompaniment by trained CReNIEO staff. The tribal farmers have left parts of their own land uncultivated as they do not have the basic capital to use the land as it requires skills and tools.

Aim and measures of the Yercaud Hills project

There is a high demand for minor millets and organic vegetables in the region. Through this project we will revive the group of tribal dedicated farmers whose fore fathers were millet farmers and spread awareness and methods of farming organic millets and other seasonal crops. The objectives, benefits and measures of the project will be:

Improve yields in underdeveloped areas by offering knowledge and training on the methods of “National Organic Production” & certification to the project farmers;

Increase the farmers income and reducing costs making organic cultivation sustainable in the long term;

Conserve local bio-diversity and natural resources on the farm and in the surroundings;

Produce safe food and vegetables.

Establish a centralized seed bank of indigenous millet seeds:

Bring tribal millet farmers in touch with expert groups, government departments and academics through a multiplier process by connecting the trained millet farmers to other institutions.

Foster major buyers to market the produce as there is a huge demand in the urban and semi urban population and Yercaud is lose to major cities of the south, Vellore, Erode, Coimbatore Salem, Bengaluru and Chennai.